CASE STUDY

Stanford place kicker goes from 0-3 in Spring Game to Lou Groza semi-finalist

Following a 0-3 showing in Stanford’s Spring Football Game, Stanford kicker Conrad Ukropina’s confidence was shaky at best. Ukropina was replacing Stanford’s all-time points leader, Jordan Williamson, so he knew he had big shoes to fill. Stanford had already embraced STRIVR training for their quarterbacks and linebackers, so he thought he would give it a try. Throughout the season, every Friday night and Saturday morning before the game, he would watch himself make Field Goals over and over again from multiple spots on the field. With STRIVR, he never saw himself miss.

THE RESULTS

With the enhanced visualization technique, Ukropina finished the season 18-20, a remarkable 90%, a stat which landed him a spot on the Lou Groza semi-finalist list, which goes to the nation’s best kicker.

“Like many athletes, Ukropina visualizes what he’s about to do before he attempts it on the field. However, now he’s been able to take that process to another level mentally because of the virtual reality technology that Stanford football has bought into […] Ukropina watches every kick he’s made twice through the Oculus headset, which puts him right there going through the process so his mind – and body – are wired in to the experience. Crowd noise and game sounds accentuate the feeling.”

Bruce Feldman – Reporter, FOX Sports

“The VR’s helped me a lot from a visualization standpoint for my confidence.”